The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-04-29

beautiful buSh above and then sank down
again, feeling the spirit OF her girlhood had
departed from her, and that another angel
had entered there; knew that she loved with
heart and soul and body, and was q very
woman.
She had called to Love as the wretched call
to Death, and Love had come In his strength
and possessed her utterly; and now for lit.
tie while she was afraid to pass into the
shadow of his wings, as the wretched who
call to Death fear him when they feel icy
fingers. But the fear passed, and the great
joy and the new consciousness Of power of
identity that the inspiration OF true passion
gives to some strong, deep natures remained,
and after while she prepared to mako her
way home across the mountain top, feeling
as though she were another woman. But
still she did not 60, but lay there with closed
eyes and drank OF this new intoxicating wine.
So absorbed was she that she did hot notice
that the birds had ceased to call, and that tho
eagle bad fled away for shelter. She was not
aware Of the great and solemn hush that had
taken the place Of the merry voice Of beast
and bird, and preceded the breaking Of the
gathered Storm
At last as she rose to 60 she opened her dark
eyes, which had been for the most part shut
while this great change was passing over her,
and with q natural impulse turned to look
once more on the place where her happiness
had found her, and then sank down again
with a little exclamation. Where was the
light and the glory and all tho happiness Of
the life that moved and grew around heri
Gone, and in its place darkness ind the ris-
ing mist and deep and ominous shadows. As
she lay and thought, the sun had sunk behind
the hill and left the great gulf nearly dark,
and. as is common in South Africa, the
heavy storm slctld had crept across the blue
sky and sealed up the light from above. A
drear wind came moaning up the gorge from
the plains beyond; the heavy rain drops be-
gan to fall one by one; the lightning fickered
fitfully in the belly of the advancing cloud |
The storm that John had feared was upon
her.
Then came dreadful hush jess had re-
covered herself by now, and, knowing what |
to expect, snatched up her sketcbing block |
and hurried into the shelter of O little cave
followed by water in the side of the cliff. |
And then with rush Of ice cold air the tenn
pest burst. Down came the rain in sheet;
and then flash upon flash cleaning fcrcely |
through the vapor laden air, and roar upon |
roar echoing in the rocky cavities in volumes
of fearful sound. Then another pause and |
space of utter silence, followed by blaze of |
light that dazed and blinded her, and sud
denly one of the piled up columns to her left |
swayed to and fro like poplar in a breeze,
and fell headlong with a crash that almost
matered the cracking Of the thunder over
head and the shrieking of the balloons scared
from their crannies in the cliff. Through it
Jess, scared and wet to the skin, managed to
climb up the natural steps, now made almost
impossible by the prevailing gloom and the
rush of the water from the table top of the
and SO on across the sodden plain,
down the rocky path on the farther side, past
the little walled in cemetery, with its four
red gums planted at its corners, in which
stranger who had died at Mooifontein lay
buried, and so, just as the darkness Of the
wet night came down like q cloud, home at
last. At the back door stood her old uncle
with lantern.
us that you, JESSE! he called out III his
stentorian tones. Lord! what sight," as
she emerged, her sodden dress clinging to her
slight form, her hands bleeding with Chamber
ing over the rocks, her curling hair, which
had broken loose, hanging down her back and
half covering her face.
3Iord, what sightm he ejac1ate6again.
..Why. Jess, where have you beens Capt.
Mel has gone out to look for v with the
Ka1ars"
II have been sketching in Leuw Kloof, and
got caught in the storm. There, uncle, let
me pass, want to get these wet things off,
1t is a bitter night" and off she ran to her
room, leaving a long trail of water behind
her as she passed. The old man entered the
house, shut the door and blew out the Ian
tern.
"Now, what is it she reminds me Off" he
said aloud, as he CROPPED his way down the
passage to the sitting room. "Ah, | know,
that night when she first came here out OF the
rain leading Bessie by the hand. What can
the girl have been thinking of, not to see the
thunder coming up? She ought to know the
signs of the weather here by now. Dreaming,
l suppose, dreaming She's an odd woman.
Jess, very. Perhaps he did not quite kn@w
how accurate his guess was and how true
the conclusion he drew from it. Certainly
she had been dreaming, and she was an odd
Meanwhile Jess was rapidly changing her
clothes and removing the traces OF her strug-
gle with the elements. But of that other
truggle that she had gone through she could
lot remove the traces. They and the love
hat arose from it would endure as long as
he endured. It was her former self that had
,een cast off in it and that now lay behind /
Ter, an empty and meaningless thing like the
hapeless pile Of garments. It was all very
TRANCE. So he had gone to look for her, and
lad not found her. She was glad that he
lad gone. 1t made her happy to think of
lin searching and calling in the wet and the
light She was only woman and it was
Natural that she should feel thus. By and by
10 would come back and find her clothed and
n her right mind and ready to greet him.
,he was glad that he had not seen her, wet,
and shapeless. A woman looks
o unpleasant like that 1t might have turned
i'm against her. Men like women to look +
ice and clean and pretty. They gave her an @
lea. She turned to her glass and, holding a
be light above her head, studied her own face a
ttentNey in it. She was woman with as \
title vanity in her composition as it is possible
or woman to have, and she had not till now
iven her personal looks much consideration.
hey had not been of great Importance to her
4 the Wakkerstroom district Of the Trans
aal. But now all of sudden they became
cry important; and SO she stood and looked e g
t her own wonderful eyes, at the masses of :,
urling browns hair still damp and shining
rom the rain, at the curious pallid face and ,
ne clear cut determined mouth. -